Heading up a delegation from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS), HE Dr. Saleh bin Mohamed al-Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics, and President of the Permanent Population Committee (PPC), participates in the 50th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development. It will take place on 03-07 April 2017 under the slogan “changing population age structures and sustainable development”.
The PPC took part in the ongoing preparations for this session, mainly the 17th Meeting of the Heads of Population National Councils and Committees in the Arab countries, held in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) on 8-9 November 2016. The third session of the meeting was dedicated to put the Population National Councils and Committees in the picture about the available data on the “changing population age structures in the Arab region and their relation with sustainable development”, as well as Qatar’s efforts exerted to prepare for the 50th Session.
In addition to the above-cited meeting, the PPC, represented by its deputy president, participated in the unofficial conclave held in New York on 27 February 2017. It was chaired by HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bint Sayf Al Thani, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, to prepare for the 50th Session. The conclave aimed at providing information and explanations about key issues in respect of the changing population age structures and sustainable development, seeking to enrich dialogue and facilitate the success of the 50th Session. The private meeting was meant to give the member states the chance to submit their remarks on the issues addressed by the Secretary General’s two reports on the theme of the 50th Session from different perspectives.
In the presence of members of the Commission on Population and Development, and representatives from some official population and development concerned organizations, and some international experienced figures, HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bint Sayf Al Thani, President of the 50th Session of the Commission on Population and Development, delivered her speech, stressing that the demographic changes response varies from country to another, and emphasizing the need to recognize regional differences, and referring to the ICPD Program of Action which was adopted 23 years ago. Among the main objectives of this program are to integrate the population problems in the development strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
The agenda of the 50th Session of the Commission on Population and Development features, in addition to the key theme, other multiple significant issues. Most notably, the discussion of the necessary measures to further implement the ICPD Program of Action at global, national and regional level.
The PPC participation in this international event is an embodiment of its keenness to stimulate global partnership and cooperation which link it to the international agencies concerned with population and development issues. The State of Qatar gives special attention to the population issue owing to its close and influential linkage to sustainable development. In this regard, Qatar rolled out several programs such as giving the youth the chance to unleash their potential, investing in human development as being a critical pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030, adopting many ambitious orientations whose aim is to update statistical system to support the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, and intensifying efforts in data collection processes to meet the international commitments.
